High school will focus on technology, communications and business


By Beverly A. Carroll Staff Writer

Central High School may seem more like a college than a high school next year as students select from majors that include finance, communications, engineering and environmental studies.

'Next school year, Central will be wall-to-wall academies,' said Central teacher Debbie Huffstetler. 'The cutting-edge programs will help prepare students to compete in the global world of the 21st century.'

The academies, which combine college-preparatory curriculum with a career theme, are part of a districtwide high school reform funded by an $8 million grant from the Carnegie Corp. of New York.

Central High parent Angela Madewell attended a recent open house to learn more about the academy concept.

'My son Jared wants to be an engineer,' Ms. Madewell said. 'I’m excited about the concept, because he will get to do more actual drafting and design work. And he will get to work with some local businesses.'

Business partnerships are an important part of academies, schools Superintendent Jesse Register said. Part of the Carnegie grant plan is to make high school relevant for students and connect the learning to careers, he said. 'As we develop academies, we are looking for business partners to help develop the curriculum and make sure it’s part of the real world,' Dr. Register said. 'It’s a unique approach to pulling together academics and career paths.'

In the academies, students will get life lessons and experiences, academies Director Cathy Robbs said.

Instruction in core academics will be theme related, she said.'In English class, students might being reading ‘Macbeth,’' Ms. Robbs said. 'If you are in the business academy, you might design a Web page as your assignment. If you are in humanities, you might perform a scene from the play.'

The academies will be housed in different parts of Central High School, Ms. Robbs said. At the end of ninth grade, all students must choose from these academies: technology, communications and business; humanities, fine arts and communications; or mathematics, technology and science.

They may change their academy selection once, at the end of the 10th-grade year.

The costs of implementing the academies were paid for by Carnegie funds and a federal small learning communities grant. No new teachers have been hired, Ms. Robbs said. Ms. Robbs said most of the funds were for training teachers.

When the grant money is gone, the training still will be in the building, she said.

'We are building capacity within the building to continue the program,' she said. 'Once that is in place, we use the teacher training teacher model.' The Carnegie allotment to schools is based on each school’s plan and number of students and can range from $75,000 to $150,000 a year, school officials said.

E-mail Beverly A. Carroll at bcarroll@timesfreepress.com